Symposia
Disaster Mental Health
Rebecca Waller, D. Phil., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rebecca Waller, D. Phil., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Background: Low positive affect (e.g., listlessness, anhedonia) is a feature of many forms of psychopathology, including depression and substance abuse. In contrast, high positive affect (e.g., positive emotionality) indexes psychological health, including happiness and resilience. However, few studies have examined how chronic stress relates to changes in positive affect, particularly during the transition to adolescence when symptoms of psychopathology typically manifest and stabilize. The COVID-19 pandemic is a major stressor that has limited academic and social opportunities that normally promote positive affect and psychological well-being. To better understand how stress relates to positive affect, we used data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which has assessed participants annually since 2017 (aged 9-10 years at baseline), including additional surveys in response to the pandemic. Our goal was to quantify within-individual changes in child positive affect before and during the pandemic. We also aimed to identify individual and family factors related to different trajectories of positive affect
Methods: Participants were 5,631 children who completed a 9-item positive affect scale 4 times before and 5 times after March 11th 2020 (i.e., when the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic). Parents and children also completed questionnaires assessing child factors at baseline (e.g., gender, race, emotion regulation) and family pandemic factors (e.g., financial loss, school closure, social isolation).
Results: A two-piece piecewise latent growth curve model showed excellent fit (CFI=.97, TLI=.97, RMSEA=.03) with positive affect stable prior to the pandemic (Bslope=.02, p=.48) but sharply decreasing after March 11th 2020 (Bquadratic=-.05, p< .05). Initial analyses suggest that at baseline, higher income, female gender, and older age were related to higher positive affect. Planned analyses will identify child and family factors related to stable (i.e., resilient) or decreasing (i.e., risky) positive affect trajectories.
Conclusion: Our findings speak to the huge toll of the pandemic on the emotional well-being of young people with striking reductions in positive affect. By exploring child- and family-level factors associated with different trajectories of positive affect, our planned analyses will identify precision targets for future interventions aimed at increasing positive affect or promoting resilience in the context of exposure to a major stressor.